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stern

adjective

Synonyms and Antonyms of stern

1 given to exacting standards of discipline and self-restraint
  • The army post's stern commander always had the utmost respect of those who served under him.
Synonyms of stern

austere, authoritarian, flinty, hard, harsh, heavy-handed, ramrod, rigid, rigorous, severe, strict, tough
Words Related to stern

demanding, exacting

uncharitable, unforgiving

adamant, callous, hardened, hard-hearted, hard-line, immovable, implacable, inflexible, merciless, pitiless, relentless, rock-ribbed, stiff, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unsparing, unyielding

dour, gruff

ascetic (also ascetical), monastic, monkish

browbeating, bullying
Near Antonyms of stern

easy, easygoing, laid-back, undemanding

charitable, kind, merciful, mild, patient, soft, softhearted

accepting, compromising, yielding

responsive, willing

acquiescent, agreeable, amenable, complaisant, compliant, flexible, pliable, pliant
Antonyms of stern

clement, forbearing, gentle, indulgent, lax, lenient, tolerant
2 harsh and threatening in manner or appearance
  • A stern receptionist took our names without even looking up.
Synonyms of stern

austere, dour, fierce, flinty, forbidding, grim, gruff, intimidating, lowering (also louring), rough, rugged, severe, stark, steely, ungentle
Words Related to stern

bleak, cold, hostile, inhospitable, inimical, unfriendly, unsympathetic

adamant, bound, determined, firm, intent, purposeful, resolute, resolved, steadfast, unflinching

fixed, hard, hardened, hardheaded, immovable, implacable, inflexible, ironhanded, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, rigid, self-willed, set, stiff, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding, willful (or wilful)

immutable, unchangeable

black, cheerless, dark, gloomy, glum, joyless, melancholic, moody, morose, sulky, sullen, surly

brooding, grave, humorless, melancholy, serious, sober, sobersided, solemn, somber (or sombre), staid, unsmiling
Near Antonyms of stern

bland, meek, mellow, soft, soothing

easy, quiet, tranquil

agreeable, bright, cheerful, inviting, pleasant, pleasing, sweet

glad, happy, lighthearted, merry, mirthful, sunny

featherbrained, flighty, frivolous, giddy, goofy, harebrained, light-headed, playful, scatterbrained, silly
Antonyms of stern

benign, benignant, gentle, mild, tender

Synonym Discussion of stern

severe, stern, austere, ascetic mean given to or marked by strict discipline and firm restraint. severe implies standards enforced without indulgence or laxity and may suggest harshness.
    • severe military discipline
stern stresses inflexibility and inexorability of temper or character.
    • stern arbiters of public morality
austere stresses absence of warmth, color, or feeling and may apply to rigorous restraint, simplicity, or self-denial.
    • living an austere life in the country
ascetic implies abstention from pleasure and comfort or self-indulgence as spiritual discipline.
    • the ascetic life of the monks

Learn More about stern

  1. See words that rhyme with stern Dictionary: Definition of stern Spanish Central: Translation of stern Nglish: Translation of stern for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of stern for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about stern

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